The Double Cross Job
by WannabeAussie
Summary: The Leverage team is running a con on another corporate high roller when the plan goes wrong and Sophie is kidnapped... Comments appreciated :
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys, this is my first Leverage fanfic. I am a firm follower of the show and did my best to keep the characters as close to their real selves as possible. Also, a little heads up, I am a Nate/Sophie fan, so there may be some bias ;) Hope you all enjoy! There are plenty more chapters to come so leave your comments and let me know what you think! ENJOY :D**

**(I don't own the characters...)**

**The Double Cross Job  
**

He leaned against the cold brick wall, thankful for his black overcoat. The weather had turned unpredictably cold as of late and he had only grabbed the coat as an afterthought. Looking across the street, he watched as their mark stumbled out of the black iron gates. Nate could not help but allow himself a small smile at the man's condition. He knew all too well what kind of state the man was in, and it was perfect for what the **Leverage** team had planned.

The mark was Henry O' Deal. He was a big time owner of a national corporation and was known for his ruthlessness in international trade and his eye for beautiful women. Not only was the man embezzling fraud investments, but he was tied to, but never convicted of several sexual harassment charges. The blonde woman who had come to them earlier that day, Karen, was one of his victims.

His scam was a clever one. People would invest their money in his corporation thinking their funds were being used to support a giant Healthcare Network. Little did they know that their money was actually being used for his own benefit to funnel into an underground weapons trade as well as being bet on the stock market. All of the cases that had been brought up against him had all mysteriously gone off record or the clients had abruptly stopped pressing charges. Whatever was going on, O' Deal was at the bottom of it all, and he was making millions of dollars off of innocent people's unsuspecting donations.

Watching the man turn up an expensive looking whisky, Nate could tell he was way past his limit as he clumsily patted his tuxedo looking for his cell phone. Reaching into his pocket, O' Deal managed to pull out his phone and was undoubtedly getting ready to call for his surprisingly late driver.

"Sophie, you're up." Nate instructed over the com system.

Shifting his eyes to the left, Nate was gratified by seeing the grifter come rushing out from behind the drunken man as she frantically spoke into her cell phone. She played her role flawlessly with a sleek black dress that left little up to the imagination and strappy black heels. Somehow, she managed to make the completely out of season outfit look warm with a simple black shawl pulled over her shoulders. Nate wasn't fooled, he was sure she was freezing no matter how well she pulled the dress off.

As the man turned in a drunken stupor, Sophie timed her normal yet seductive walk perfectly to 'accidently' collide with the man. The contents of Sophie's purse as well as the man's beverage were sent flying into a jumbled mess on the cobble stone street. Sophie reached out and grabbed onto the man managing to look like a woman in distress while simultaneously helping the man regain his balance.

"Oh! I am terribly sorry, I wasn't paying attention..." She apologized, using her heavily layered British accent.

"Then again…" She smiled coyly as she took the time to look up at him and bat her eyes, "… maybe I'm not sorry seeing as how it was _you_ that I ran into."

"No…be ass'rd I'm alright… it seems the pleasures s'all mine." He slurred taking the time to eye the woman in front of him.

As she quickly stooped to begin picking up her things, he made an even more obvious display of taking in her figure before it dawned on him to help her collect her things.

Nate could not help but feel a wave of distaste flow through him at the man's close scrutiny. He knew it was Sophie's job. As a grifter it was up to her to make men fall in love with her as easily as she left them standing. That didn't mean that Nate did not feel a twinge of envy every time she doted all of her affection on another mark. Of course, it did help to know that she was just conning them; he was quite aware when Sophie was feigning adoration and when her smoldering gazes meant something else all together.

"Did I hire you?" O'Deal inquired, "….because I think I would've remembered if I had."

"I'm Amy." Sophie smiled. "I was only hired a few weeks ago as a secretary by one of your financial managers."

"Really? I didn't know they were looking for new assistants… Which one?"

"Alright, he's testing you Soph. Tell him Tom Baker." Nate interjected.

"Tom Baker did of course, if you ask me, he probably didn't want me to meet you for fear of you whisking me away as your own secretary." Sophie taunted.

Giving her a mischievous grin, he asked,

"And what makes you think I would want you as m' secretary?"

Sophie gathered the rest of her things into her purse as they stood together and made a point of leaning in to whisper in his ear,

"Your eyes."

Still keeping a trained eye on Sophie's progression, Nate quickly checked in with the rest of the team.

"Where are you guys?"

"Oh, this driver isn't going anywhere…ha ha…this stretch is toast. Un huh, I bet you guys didn't know how much this EMP gun was going to come in handy did ya?" Hardison's voice rang in.

"Yea, well, while you're over there playing with your little nerd toys from a safe distance, the security guards have just been taken out, and I was able to secure Parker an entrance to the building…" Elliot's rough voice barked through the com system.

"Nerd toys bra'? Is that what you call the decoding device that just broke through one of the toughest security systems to get your butt within a range even close enough to hit things?" Hardison retorted.

"I swear when I get back I'll show you how close I have to be to hit something…" Elliot began before being cut off by Nate.

"What's your progress Parker?"

"Oh you know, just scaled the building, gained access through the elevator shaft into the air ducts and I'm looking at his computer right now….only problem is I need his security codes as well as a retinal scan to gain access. I'm sifting through his safe contents now…I think I found the cases we were looking for with a list of all his previous complaints. Wow Nate…there are a lot of people on this list." Parker chimed in.

"Sophie…we need a retinal scan." Nate reiterated as the grifter continued to work the mark.

Nate had already seen Sophie's hand quickly dart for O'Deal's cell phone when he had stooped to help her with her things. The security codes were sure to be on the phone which Sophie now had in her possession. All they needed now was a retinal scan.

Taking her makeup out and pulling out a mirror, Sophie began to apply blush to her face.

"Oh my, I had no idea how much of a mess I was! To tell you the truth, I probably should be going…" Sophie said making a point to let out an exasperated sigh.

Unexpectedly, O'Deal let out a cry of distress and began to frantically rub his eyes. Nate could not help but smile. He hadn't known how Sophie was going to get the scan, but now he saw her plan. Her extended sigh had happened to blow blush right into his eyes. Frantically, she pulled out her phone, pried open his left eye and blew into it.

"There there, hold still…I can help you with that." She prattled on while taking the opportunity to scan his eye with her touch-screen.

While she continued to help him sort through his blurry vision, she managed to send the scan to Hardison.

"Alright, got the scan. All I need are the codes now."

"Double cross Soph." Nate instructed.

Nate strolled forward and blended into the few people that were leaving from the exclusive party O'Deal had previously exited. Sophie's eyes flicked to his eyes for only a second as she saw him approaching from behind O'Deal. Still brushing his eye with the corner of her shawl, when Nate brushed past her she managed to slip him the cell phone without meeting his eyes again. Looking down at the phone while continuing to cross the street and circle back around to his previous stake out spot, Nate quickly scrolled through the information and sent the codes to Hardison.

"Codes sent." He announced.

"Ok. I'm in. Parker I need you to go to the computer and insert the drive I gave you." Hardison said.

"Aw…but I just found his secret little money stash." Parker complained as she undoubtedly began to count through a wad of bills.

"Parker, now!" Nate directed, beginning to feel antsy.

They had already put too much time into this con. The security was bound to notice something was amiss soon. After all, a man like O'Deal did not go missing for long periods of time without someone knowing about it. Also, he didn't like the way O'Deal was beginning to advance on Sophie now that his vision had apparently returned. The man was too drunk to realize it was her who temporarily blinded him in the first place.

"Fine fine. Drive inserted now. Ooooh, looky there, Mr. O'Deal's funds were just depleted!"  
"Ha ha…yes they were….right into our bank accounts." Hardison laughed, enjoying his free range on corporate network systems.

"I still don't think virtual money is as fun as the real stuff…" Parker complained.

"Just plant the spike, grab the files, and get out of there." Nate instructed. "Elliot, do you still have an exit?"

"Are you kidding me? These guys aren't waking up any time soon. But if Parker doesn't hurry up, we're going to get caught."

"What are you talking about? I'm right here." The team heard Parker happily reply a few seconds later.

They heard Elliot say a few choice swear words when he realized Parker had managed to sneak up behind him with the files.

"Nate…we're out." Elliot growled after he had calmed down and got into the driver's seat of the get-away car.

"Alright, we're good. Wrap it up Sophie, we need to get going before they notice something's up."

A drop of Sophie's chin let Nate know she had heard him. Listening to her conversation, he waited for her to make her leave.

"Well, it really has been lovely, but I'm afraid I must go. Lots of work to do…"

"No no no." O'Deal grinned as he threw his arm and a good portion of his weight around her shoulders and breathed into her ear, "I've enjoyed this little conversation…I think we should continue it somewhere else. Maybe somewhere quieter where you can show me…. just how good you are at doing your job…"

Nate went rigid and waited for Sophie to maneuver her way out of the situation. She had dealt with and escaped from trickier marks than this.

All would have probably gone according to plan had not two things occurred.

Firstly, a black limo pulled out in front of Sophie and O'Deal momentarily blocking them from Nate's view. Secondly, O'Deal temporarily lost his balance in an attempt to woo Sophie forward toward the car causing his hand to slam into her ear as he caught onto her to keep himself from falling. This motion sent Sophie's ear bud flying right under the tire of the limo where it was successfully crushed.

Sensing the real danger of the situation, Nate quickly strode forward to aid Sophie when he caught her eye and stopped. Her facial expression was clear. She did not want him to come. She could handle herself. They both knew it would blow the con if she broke cover now. Standing helplessly, he watched as she smiled at O'Deal, her eyes flashing to him once more, before she entered the back seat of the car with the mark. As the door shut, Nate could not help but feel a deep sense of dread. This had not gone according to plan.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry, it's definitely a shorter chapter, but I hope you enjoy it all the same!**

"My fault? My fault? I blew up the freakn' car! How was I supposed to know he had two?"

"You were supposed to be listening to the party feedback Hardison!" Elliot accused pointing his finger at Hardison.

"What? At the same time I was getting you into the building and hacking the corporate network!" Hardison retorted incredulously.

"Technically, it was his assistant who called the limo for him…he had no idea a second one was coming." Parker commented staring at the floor blankly. "Poor Sophie…O'Deal is such a creepy guy, I wonder if she's…"

"Would you all just be quiet!" Nate shouted.

The team turned to look at him. They were sitting on the couch and Nate had been pacing in front of them at their safe house ever since Sophie had yet to return. It had been two hours since they last saw her.

"Look! Sophie knows how to handle herself. If something went wrong, then she would have tried to contact us by now. And if there is anyone to blame, it would be me….I made the executive decision to…to leave her…" Nate lost his resolve and stopped pacing.

The team was silent, sensing his distress as they watched him run a hand through his black hair in frustration. After closing his eyes to think for a few moments, Nate suddenly perked up his head; eyes bright with determination.

"Alright, Hardison pull up O'Deal's information. Locate all of the addresses of his current places of residence. Find out who that driver was and check the stop light cameras to see if you can locate the license plates of the limo or a picture ID from the footage. Elliot, Parker, come with me, we're going to get Sophie back. Con or no con."

Grabbing his overcoat once more with Elliot and Parker in tow, Nate headed for the door. Just as they were about to exit, the phone rang. Everyone froze. Nate quickly turned around and moved to grab the phone. Not bothering to check the number, he pushed talk and asked hopefully,

"Sophie?"

Nate's heart filled with dread when he heard drunken laughter on the other end of the phone call.

"Oh, is that her real name? And here I thought it was Amy."

**Hope you guys like it so far! Please, if you have any suggestions or comments, leave me a review! I would love to know your thoughts on the story :) I promise the next update is not far behind!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you all for the kind reviews! However, there are a few things you need to know. First, this story is set sometime _before _the San Lorenzo job, and secondly, a woman will be mentioned in this chapter by the name of Karen: she is the victim who first brought the case to the Leverage team (mentioned in Chap 1). I think that about covers it! Have fun reading!**

"What do you want O'Deal." Nate practically growled.

Nate felt the team tense around him.

"Oh, defensive are we. Listen, I'm not asking for much…just what you tried to take away from me. If you ever want to see... Sophie was it?... yes, if you ever want to see Sophie again you will use whatever means you used to gain access to my network system in the first place to undo the virus that you have planted there. You will then bring back the files you have stolen as well as the woman who started all of this, Karen. Yes... I think I will have to have a little... chat with her. Bring her and whatever cohorts you have used for this particular scandal, and I may even be decent enough to let Sophie live..." O'Deal said, lingering for a moment for the full effect.

Elliot was at Nate's side with his hands balled into fists while Hardison was trying to direct Nate's attention to his computer screen. Anger rising inside of him at the thought of Sophie's situation, Nate quickly glanced at the screen and saw that Hardison had managed to locate the address of O'Deal's whereabouts through the traffic cameras. Through what looked to be the last shot taken by a security feed off of the actual O'Deal residence, Nate saw a blurry image of O'Deal forcing Sophie out of the car with a gun to her back. Just the image made Nate shiver.

"…though, I can't promise she'll be in mint condition." O'Deal finished smugly.

"Listen O'Deal, if you lay a hand on her I can promise that you won't see a dime of your money and that you will be charged with embezzlement, fraud, harassment, terrorism, and whatever other charges I can have you pinned for." Nate asserted boldly.

"Yes, there is that little hitch or else I wouldn't have to be talking to you right now and could be enjoying Sophie's company all to myself. Here… I will send you the address, you have two hours."

"I don't need the address. I know where you are. I want proof that Sophie is still alive." Nate said cutting him off.

"Ah, how clever of you. Fine…"

They could hear O'Deal shuffling around in the back ground and mumbling something that sounded like, 'They want proof.' After a few moments of silence, they could hear shallow breathing.

"Soph?" Nate asked quietly as he tried to contain the overwhelming concern that was sure to be leaking through.

"Nate…Paris. Eleven. The paint cans. Double cross…" Sophie was immediately cut off by a thud as she let out a pain filled gasp. They heard O'Deal's muffled voice as he muttered, 'Can't follow simple directions can we?'

Nate found himself gripping the counter until his knuckles were white while Elliot swore in the background. Hardison was typing furiously trying to find helpful information while Parker began throwing all of her tools into a black duffle bag with a scowl on her face.

O'Deal's voice came back over the phone.

"Two hours. Be here." The phone line went dead.

Nate cursed and slammed the phone onto the counter. Holding his head to massage his temples he began to pace again.

"What did she mean? Was she using a code?" Parker asked; her gaze boring into Nate.

"Let's just show up and take them down. As long as we get Sophie out we don't have to meet any of his demands…" Elliot said narrowing his eyes in a dangerous way.

"Maybe we could cause a power surge…take the lights out. They wouldn't know what hit them…of course, not until Elliot did…" Hardison suggested.

Elliot looked over at him and smirked while giving the hacker a high five,

"I like his idea."

"Look. There are guards. Eleven of them, each outfitted with semi automatics and uzeys. You guys are forgetting that the man operates a weapons trade. He has access to some of the deadliest weapons on the black market." Nate interrupted.

"What did she mean by Paris….and paint cans?" Elliot asked.

"That's what I'm trying to…wait, I've got it." Nate said looking up expectantly. "When Sophie and I were in Paris, there was an art deal that went bad…long story short, they tried to kill us with paint cans that were filled with explosives."

"So O'Deal's going to try to kill us with paint?" Parker asked skeptically.

Nate sighed,

"No, she's trying to tell us that O'Deal has good protection and that he was never intending to meet us at his house in the first place. He's pulling a double cross and moving Sophie to a different location. Instead, there's going to be an explosive waiting for us…"

The room was silent as the team let the information sink in.

"Hold up, I should be able to figure out where he's moving her to through following the camera footage." Hardison said pulling up several different streams of footage on his laptop.

"Look…" Hardison said, projecting the image from his laptop up to the huge plasma screens for the team to see.

The Leverage team watched as they saw the front of O'Deal's million dollar estate appear. The same limo they saw before was parked in the driveway. As they watched, they saw a group of people exit the mansion and head toward the car. Nate walked toward the screen to get a better look and frowned. He could just make out the dark figures. There were eleven suits surrounding O'Deal and Sophie, each carrying a weapon of some kind. The grifter's hands were tied and her mouth was taped shut. As they reached the limo, Sophie was shoved forward into the car and O'Deal entered after her. Each of the suits crowded in as well. It wasn't long until the car pulled out.

Nate tore his eyes from the screen and refocused on Hardison.

"Alright. It's time to make us disappear. Pull the feeds from yesterday, make things happen. Make sure you keep an eye on that limo's progress and tell me when you get an address."

He then turned to Parker.

"Do you still have those files you took from his safe?"

Parker grinned mischievously and pointed to Hardison.

"Right. That's what I thought. Give me the real documents and keep the copies." Nate said grabbing the folder from the hacker.

"Hardison, stay here and do what you do best." Turning to Elliot and Parker, Nate grinned, "I think it's time we stole Karen."

As he took off toward the door, Elliot stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"Nate…you're not actually going to bring Karen into this are you?"

Shifting his eyes to the left as if to think, Nate shrugged his shoulders and replied,

"Yea, I think we will."

Nate then turned and swept from the room. Parker shrugged her shoulders, grabbed her bag and followed him. Still standing where Nate left him, Elliot looked back at Hardison with a confused look. The hacker just shrugged and grabbed his orange soda. Sighing, Elliot took off after them knowing they were going to need his help.

**As always, your thoughts and comments are appreciated! Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Terribly sorry for the wait, but I had to go back and make some adjustments. Hope you enjoy!**

Sophie glared at her captors in black suits. There were two of them facing her with semi automatics and stoic expressions. Her ankles were tied to the chair and her hands were cuffed behind her back. Duck tape had long since been placed over her mouth when they had discovered her unique ability to con. O'Deal had only previously exited the room when he had received a phone call.

She couldn't believe O'Deal had seen through their con. Apparently, the limo drivers were never late which had been their first mistake. The second was that they had never paid any serious attention to his right hand assistant, David Snider, who apparently knew O'Deal's whereabouts better than he did. Sure, they had known of his existence, just not how deeply involved he was in the 'small details' of the company. Apparently, he had been suspicious of her at the party and had called to double check her back story when she had began talking with O'Deal. Of course, he soon found out that there was no one by the stage name she had given which is when things turned nasty. As soon as she had tried to get O'Deal to spill more about his dirty little secrets in the back seat of the limo by continuing to play the infatuated secretary, she had found a gun stuck into her stomach. When O'Deal had then proceeded to monologue about his intelligence, Sophie had quickly tuned him out. Now, she was stuck as his prisoner, with no way to communicate with the team.

Sophie racked her brain for ideas on how to escape. This was definitely not the worst situation she had found herself in. After all, she was a thief; bad things were bound to happen sooner or later. Testing her cuffs for the dozenth time that night, Sophie tried once again to slip out of the metal shackles but was only rewarded by painful cuts in her wrists. Getting frustrated, she gazed around the room looking for something useful. She was in what appeared to be a spacious office with one wall made completley out of glass. Through the glass, she could see a large cemented area below where several more suits were gathered. There were stacks of crates which Sophie assumed were filled with weapons. The limo was also parked below and she could just make out O'Deal leaning against it. It looked like they were in a large warehouse.

Refocusing on the room around her, her eyes fell on O'Deal desk where a few paper clips were scattered about. Smiling to herself, she began to formulate an idea. Turning her head, she looked meaningfully at the guard nearest to her and began to talk against the duck tape. Of course, all that came out was a muffled high pitched whining noise that one could barely make out as a human voice. Aware of the confused look the man gave his companion, Sophie continued to keep on talking getting more passionate as she went. Finally, the guard stepped forward and pointed his gun at her chest. Reaching forward, he ripped the tape from her mouth intententionally trying to cause her pain.

"Alright you, what is so important?"

Sophie put on her sweetest face and smiled up at him.

"I have to go to the restroom."

Glancing back at the other guard, there was an uneasy silence as he internally debated on whether or not he should risk it. Trying to further persuade them, she stated,

"Look, if you don't get me to a restroom then I'm going to go right here, I'm sure you don't want to have to deal with such an unlady like…"

"Fine." The guard snapped, quickly reaching down to undo the ropes around her ankles. "But if there is any funny stuff, and I mean any at all, I swear I will shoot you in the head."

"Now now…no need for idle threats boys." Sophie chided, thrilled that her plan was working.

As he finished untying her, he moved to yank her up by the arm. Shifting her heels to catch in the carpet, Sophie managed to stumble backward into the desk to her left making it look as if it were all due to her simple clumsiness. Grasping behind her as she caught herself on the desk, her eyes brightened when she felt the paper clips in her hands. The guard cursed and yanked her back forward to right herself again.

"Watch what you're doing!" He threatened, shoving her toward the restroom.

Already tasting her freedom, Sophie heart sank when she heard a voice behind her.

"Wait! Stop right there."

The guards were taken aback by David Snider's sudden appearance and exchanged guilty glances. He was a short little man with oily black hair and glasses. Quickly looking up to the corner of the room, Sophie noticed a security camera. Snider must have been watching them. Walking up behind her, Snider roughly grabbed the paperclips from her hands. Half turning from her, he said to the guards,

"She's a grifter idiots. Every action has a purpose, no exceptions." Holding up the paper clips for them to see, he continued to berate them. "These…could have been the end of this little operation! Really, I don't know where O'Deal finds his cronies anymore, but clearly, they are not up to par…"

Walking away from them and over to the desk, the small obsessive man neatly placed the paperclips into their container and placed them into a drawer. Sophie could not help but smirk at the man's compulsiveness, maybe it was something she could use against him. Not given the chance to carry out her thoughts, the door opened once more to reveal O' Deal. His glossy eyes glanced first to Sophie, now held tightly between the irritated guards, and then to Snider standing behind his desk.

"What's going on here?" He asked.

Looking up from straightening some of O'Deal's clutter, Snider pointed at the guards,

"They almost let your little friend escape. She was going to use your paperclips to break free of her cuffs."

Narrowing his eyes at the guards, he said,

"Well, seeing as how you just proved your worthlessness, why don't you go do something useful besides taking up space! Go patrol the perimeter of the building and make sure you tell the others to alert me when the thieves approach the house. I wouldn't want to miss that, now would I?"

The guards nodded once curtly before leaving the room. O'Deal then turned to Snider.

"David, leave me alone… I need to deal with the grifter."

Looking up from the laptop, Snider narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his boss. Closing the computer and picking it up, he answered,

"Fine, but you should realize that if she is…harmed…then the exchange won't work."

"Well if everything goes according to your plan, then there won't be an exchange!" O'Deal snapped.

Snider's face tightened impatiently before he swiftly left the room. O'Deal then turned and approached Sophie. She stood her ground, knowing it would be a mistake to show fear. She had to suppress a shiver as O'Deal took her wrist and guided her toward the couch. Forcing her to sit down, she was left with no choice but to glare up at him. His eyes were lustful as they took in her pitiful appearance. Taking a pistol from his waistband and running his hand over the barrel, he looked down at her with a smirk on his face.

"You think you are clever don't you? Making people watch your beautiful face, while they are oblivious to what your hands are doing. You live for that thrill; for the satisfaction of being the smartest person in the room…. for having one up on the other person. It's almost as if your whole life is a giant con."

Loosely pointing the gun at Sophie he knelt in front of her eagerly leaning forward so that his face was directly in front of hers.

"But you see…you and I, we are not so different. I do the exact same thing you do, just in a different way. People give to my company and they are happy because they think they are making a good investment. But ultimately, that is just the surface. Just because they don't see the inner workings of the company does not mean that they are still not content with what they do see. It's people like us that reap the benefits of this world. We pay attention to the little details. We see past the fake smiles and good intentions into the hearts of men where their fears and desires lay. Then we reach out…" O'Deal whispered as he put his hand on her exposed leg, "…and take it."

Wanting to shout out that they were nothing alike because she would never treat her coworkers with such disrespect or have an assistant who noticed all of the details for her, Sophie lost all resolve when O'Deal began to force himself on her pressing his mouth to hers. Disgusted by the weight of his body pressing against hers, Sophie reacted the only way she knew how to regardless of the gun still pointed into her side. Gathering as much force behind it as she could, she thrust her knee upwards and caught him between the legs. Letting out a grunt of pain, O'Deal immediately drew back and cracked her across the head with the butt of the gun. Sophie felt her lip crack and blood begin to run down her mouth.

Still holding himself, O'Deal pointed the gun threateningly at her.

"You're crazy!"

Sophie could not help but laugh as she looked up at him. Somehow, the first case the team had ever worked together came back to mind as she thought of the name Nate had came up with for their so-called operations. It seemed so ironic.

"You can't kill me… I'm your only leverage."

Narrowing his eyes dangerously, O'Deal straightened and took an aggressive step toward her,

"Oh, I think I can still manage to make things miserable for you…"

Just as he grabbed her by the hair, a knock was heard before Snider entered the room with four guards in tow. Letting her go, he turned to face them.

"Henry, they've just reached the house. This just came up on the security footage." Snider said setting the laptop on the desk for them to watch.

Sophie's eyes widened in fear. She had been sure Nate would have been able to decipher her code. Surely, he would not have gone to the house.

"Just in time…" O'Deal said snidely, looking at the grifter. "I think this will be good for you to see Sophie."

Staring in disbelief, Sophie watched on the laptop screen before her as a security feed from O'Deal's residence was pulled up. A black van was parked in the driveway, and she immediately recognized it as Hardison's. Looking on in fear, Sophie watched as three figures exited the van. She could just make out what looked to be Nate, Elliot, and Parker. The three figures strode out of sight to the front door.

"No…" Sophie said shaking her head in disbelief.

"Oh yes." O'Deal said excitedly.

Turning to Snider, he inquired,

"Alright, has the virus been cleared from the network?"

"I just checked only moments ago, the network is up and running." He answered.

"What about the money, has it been wired yet?"

"The transaction is taking place now." Snider said, glancing at his blackberry.

"Good… blow the house." O'Deal ordered.

"No!" Sophie yelled, jumping to her feet to try and distract the guard.

O'Deal caught her and roughly threw her against the couch once more.

"You will watch!" He said gruffly, forcing her to look at the laptop screen by grabbing her hair.

Sophie's eyes filled with tears when she saw the house burst into flames before the camera footage went black. All she could feel was shock.

Laughing to himself, O'Deal straightened and looked down at the grifter.

"You see Sophie…that is what happens when you mess with Henry O'Deal…"

However, the man was cut off by his phone ringing. Confusion lighting his eyes, he began to pat down his jacket searching for the device. Grabbing it, he looked at the number and balked. Cautiously, he raised the phone to his ear and met Snider's eyes with a look of disbelief.

"Nate?" He asked, almost fearfully.

"Why yes sunshine. I'm glad we now have an understanding."

Sophie could not help but smirk.

**So what did you think? Let me know by leaving a review! :D Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Happy New Years!**

O'Deal's mouth hung open in surprise. Running a hand through his hair in distress, he stammered,

"But I just saw…how did you…you're supposed to be dead!"

Snider was immediately at his side, listening in on his conversation.

"Ah, funny how most people only take things at surface value huh? Listen O'Deal. I set up this little demonstration so that we have an understanding. Don't screw with me. I am well enough equipped that I know when you're lying. You asked for a simple exchange. I'm agreeing to it. In fact, I have Karen as well as the documents in hand. As you have probably already checked, the money and virus have already been taken care of. All we need now is the exchange. Karen and the papers for Sophie."

"And how do you propose getting them to me?" O'Deal snapped.

"Oh that part is quite simple. You just have to open the door of your warehouse."

The phone line went dead. O'Deal turned around quickly and grabbed Snider by the front of his jacket.

"What the hell Snider! You told me the guards had the charges set. How are they still alive?"

Jerking back from O' Deal and smoothing his jacket out Snider quickly turned to the laptop again and began typing furiously.

"The charges were set and the house was blown. It was not a mistake on the guards' part. Now, whether or not the thieves were actually there or not is the question. Maybe they never went… regardless, you need to take care of them. Look, here they are at the front door."

Snider spun the laptop around for O'Deal to see, and he found himself staring at two men holding a bound blonde woman.

"The guards can take care of this…let's just kill them." O'Deal said, turning to motion for the guards.

"No!" Snider said pointing at the screen. "Look, they have Karen. It looks like they are complying with all of the terms of the exchange. Plus, we need to wrap up that loose end. Why not send your guards to bring them in, get the information we need out of them, and then take care of things… quietly."

Shrugging, O'Deal turned to the guards and ordered,

"Quick you fools! They are outside with Karen. Make sure you bring them in nice and quietly. We don't want a mess…"

O'Deal then grabbed Sophie by the arm and shoved her toward Snider. The man looked up just in time to catch her in his arms. Rummaging in his desk, O' Deal brought out a role of duck tape.

"It seems your friends came for you after all. Too bad they don't know me well." O' Deal muttered.

Sophie narrowed her eyes at him dangerously as he stepped forward and placed another piece of tape over her mouth while Snider held her from behind. It wasn't long until they were standing on the lower level of the warehouse. Sophie again found herself bound and seated in a chair between them.

No less than five guards with trained weapons were sent to escort the thieves in. As the group approached, Sophie noticed that it was only Nate, Elliot, and what looked to be a bound Karen. She had her hands tied behind her back and only her blonde hair could be seen from beneath the cloth that was covering her face. From the way she was walking, with Elliot's hand guiding her by the arm, one could tell she was scared. Sophie could not believe Nate had actually dragged her back into this. Looking up, she saw Nate's eyes flick to her for the first time. She was surprised when she saw first concern, then hurt, then anger flash through his eyes. Though the emotions flicked through so fast she may as well have imagined them.

Turning to face O'Deal, Nate smiled and clapped his hands together,

"Alright O'Deal. Hand over Sophie, and you get the documents as well as Karen."

O'Deal laughed, humored by his request. With a nod of his head, the eleven guards around them formed a circle and trained all of their weapons on Nate and Elliot. Putting his hands in the air while looking around as if confused, Nate threw a disgruntled look at O'Deal,

"We had a deal…"

"Yes we did." O'Deal crowed as he took a step toward Nate. "But a deal among thieves doesn't mean much, now does it?"

Turning to his guards, he ordered,

"Search them. Find the documents and bring them to me. Oh, and take Ms. Karen into the back room to keep an eye on her. I will deal with her later."

The guards sprang forward and roughly searched Nate and Elliot while the blonde prisoner was lead out of sight by two guards. Elliot's face was livid as he resisted giving the guard who was patting him down an elbow to the stomach. Reaching inside Nate's coat pocket, a guard pulled out the documents. Nate held up his hand to protest but was roughly shoved aside. The file was then handed to O' Deal. After watching the guards search the thieves with suspicion, Snider turned his beady eyes on the guards who were leading Karen away. While O'Deal stepped forward to deal with the thieves Snider quietly slipped away to follow the prisoner.

"You see Nate, it was so nice of you to bring these to me. It was about time they were disposed of..."

Flicking open a lighter, he slowly lit the file on fire and threw the papers on the ground.

"Wait!" Nate protested taking a step forward.

O'Deal quickly drew his pistol from his waistband and pointed it between Nate's eyes. Sophie could not help but notice Elliot take a half step forward as he stared O'Deal down with narrowed eyes and clenched fists. Nate froze and slowly raised his hands again.

"It's over Nate. You and you're friends should have known better than to cross me. Nobody crosses Henry O'Deal."

As he cocked the pistol, Nate smirked and glanced back at Elliot.

"Looks like we forgot about the weapons trade huh?"

When Elliot closed his eyes and smiled for the first time that night, Sophie knew something was up. Before she even had time to speculate as to what the plan might be, the power unexpectedly went out, and all was chaos.

**So, what did you guys think?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alright guys, this is just a teaser chapter (or paragraph really...). Unfortunately, I only have one more chapter to update. Though, I promise the final chapter will be three times as long and will explain everything. I do hope you have enjoyed the story thus far!**

Parker smiled down at the blown fuse box. O'Deal wouldn't be able to get the power back on for a long time. Checking behind her back to make sure the two guards were still incapacitated, Parker adjusted her night vision goggles and began to tie their hands behind their backs. They had not seen anything coming when she had whipped the cloth from her head and took them out with only a round house kick and taser gun. They had never even checked to see that she was wearing goggles under the cloth. Turning to hoist herself into an air duct, she was caught by surprise when the door flew open and a flashlight was shown into her eyes. Lurching forward, Snider reached out and made to pull her down from where she was hanging.

"Oh no you don't!" He yelled.

Parker looked down at him as he angrily tried to pull her down by her dangling legs. Rolling her eyes, she dropped down which resulted in Snider falling backwards. As they hit the ground, Snider's flashlight was sent spinning and all that could be heard was a quick buzzing noise. Standing over Snider's now limp form, Parker smiled,

"Oh, yes I do…"

She had to admit, the taser was her favorite weapon. Tying Snider alongside the other guards and keeping the door locked from the inside, the thief managed to make it appear as if nothing had went amiss; that is nothing besides the lights. Hearing grunting coming from her com system, Parker hurriedly made her way to the warehouse's lower floor where she was sure the fight had already erupted. Smirking to herself, she was sure the taser would come in handy.

**Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! If you have any thoughts, questions, criticisms, just let me know! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello! I thought I would be nice and go ahead and give you the final chapter you've all been waiting for! I also wanted to thank you all for reading my story and for the lovely reviews. Your support is much appreciated! I do hope you have enjoyed reading the story thus far! So, without further ado...**

Back on the lower floor, there was mass confusion. As soon as Parker had cut the power, Nate had taken the oppertunity to punch O'Deal square across the face. In fact, he cuffed the man so hard that he was sent flying backwards which resulted in a dropped pistol and his head being cracked against the cement. Following the man to the ground, Nate jumped onto O' Deal jerking him up so he could hit him in the face again. O' Deal blindly threw a punch at Nate causing the men to roll over with Nate being left in a compromising position. O' Deal tried to take advantage by quickly reaching down to strangle him. Feeling his airway being cut off, Nate tried to pry his fingers away, but O' Deal's grip was too firm. Knowing Elliot was entirely too busy to help, Nate did the only thing he could think of. Thrusting his head forward with as much force as possible, Nate head butted O' Deal. The man jerked back cursing and holding his now bleeding nose. Nate quickly leapt on him again and continued to angrily pound him in the face until he was left unconscious. Stumbling away from O' Deal, Nate heard several thuds followed by cries to his left. It seemed Elliot had not been lying when he had reassured him that he was trained to fight in the dark.

Sophie whipped her head back and forth trying to make her eyes adjust. She heard O'Deal grunt in pain somewhere in front of her before a body stumbled against her chair knocking it over. As her head banged against the hard floor, Sophie could not help but feel a rise of anger at what her face was going to look like after all of this was over; that is, if they all got out alive. Hearing several punches being thrown all around her, she tried to figure out what was going on. Whatever it was, it sounded like a lot of people were in pain; she just hoped it was her team. The grifter was startled when someone appeared right in front of her, pulling her chair back to a sitting position. Even if he would not have spoken, Sophie would have recognized the man as Nate because of his subtle cologne. As he gently peeled the tape from her mouth, she heard him whisper,

"You alright Soph?"

Sophie could not help but feel warmth spread through her at the genuine concern and affection in his voice.

Cupping her face in his hands, and narrowing his eyes at what he could see of her face, he murmured,

"I should've killed him…"

"No, I'm fine. Just a little _tied _up at the moment…"

She could have sworn she heard Nate chuckle quietly as he began to untie her ankles and wrists.

"I'm working on it." He answered, being careful to avoid causing her more pain.

When she was completely unbound, Nate tenderly put his arm around her waist while taking her arm around his shoulders as he helped her to stand. Handing her an ear bud, he instructed,

"Here, put this in… just in case."

Supporting most of Sophie's weight, Nate began to walk her toward the warehouse opening. Travelling cautiously and straining to hear what was going on around him, Nate whispered into the com system,

"Parker, what's your status?"

"Fuse box blown. Also, I left the two guards and Snider bound in the back room. I just now reached the lower floor and I'm tying up all of the unconscious bodies Elliot left behind!" Parker replied merrily.

"Elliot, how's it going? Are all of the guards taken care of?"

Elliot could be heard breathing hard as he grunted,

"Nate, I took eight guys down not including O'Deal but I can't find the last guard. He must be hiding…want me to seek him out?"

"No, we've spent too much time here already. The cops are going to show up at any moment. Meet us outside. Hardison, are you ready to go?" Nate inquired.

"Oh yea. Lucille is waiting for you guys by the front entrance. I also have the documents you asked for. Are you sure it's a good idea for me to leave them behind?" Hardison answered.

"Trust me, Banano will put them to good use…" Nate replied.

Finally reaching the warehouse entrance, Nate pulled the door aside and helped Sophie through. As they stepped out, Sophie suddenly felt a wave of fatigue and stumbled. Nate immediately caught her, able to fully see her now in the moonlight. He felt anger ebb up inside of him at her bruised face.

"Are you sure you're ok?" He asked, holding her safely up against himself.

"I'm fine…" She said painfully. "Just a little shaky."

Meeting her eyes, Nate nodded and proceeded to help her toward the van. Hardison pulled open the back doors for them as they approached and Elliot appeared on Sophie's other side to help support her. Nate could not help but notice that his head was bleeding from where it looked like a gun butt had caught him. As Elliot went ahead and hopped into the van, Nate was about to help Sophie in when a voice from behind made them freeze.

"Stop where you are!"

It was the missing guard. His machine gun was trained on Sophie. Nate quickly moved to put himself in front of her, blocking her from view while still supporting her weight. Before Nate could try to negotiate or Elliot could leap out of the van, the man oddly began to yell and twitch before he dropped his weapon and crumpled to the ground. Nate and Elliot found themselves staring at a grinning Parker who now stood in the man's place. She switched her taser off and blew it as if it were a smoking gun.

"That's why I always have one of these babies handy…"

"Don't tase me bro…haha. Come on let's get out of here." Hardison laughed.

The team quickly piled into Lucille and took off. As they drove, Hardison could not help but grin when he saw the flow of red and blue lights race toward the warehouse. O'Deal was going to be in a lot of trouble when they found his supply of illegal weapons and conveniently placed list of prior clients he had ripped off. He would never see it coming; especially since it was due to an 'anonymous' tip dropped to Banano.

After a long ride, the team tiredly piled into Nate's apartment. Elliot grabbed an icepack and put it to his head as he exhaustedly collapsed down into the arm chair. Sophie was curled up in the corner of the couch with her head held in her hands. Nate sat beside her with Parker on his other side. Hardison stood in front of them setting up his laptop to project on the huge screens.

"Alright…so do you want to know what I've been up to? Does anybody want to know what Hardison had to do while you all were out completing a "rescue" mission? Nobody appreciates…"

"Hardison! Just shut up and show us what you did already." Elliot barked.

"Yea, what happened to his money?" Parker asked excitedly.

"Well…I was getting to that before I was so rudely interrupted…Look, we planned it so that when Nate called O'Deal, he would see the transaction being processed because technically it was…however, he only had time to check it once since he was preoccupied with Nate's arrival at the warehouse. I simply cancelled the transaction before it could be completed."

"So, technically, we still have the money?" Parker asked as her eyes lit up with excitement.

"Only until it can be distributed to the list of families that O'Deal ripped off in the first place." Nate injected, firmly bringing her back to reality.

"Right…" Parker said looking a little deflated.

Thinking for a moment, Parker perked up again,

"Can I go with you when you meet Karen tomorrow?"

Nate nodded and Parker smiled, looking back at Hardison.

"Didn't Hardison leave the documents at the warehouse?" Elliot asked, confused.

Hardison smiled and clicked to make the screens bring up a virtual copy of the documents. Shrugging, he answered,

"I'm a hacker…it's what I do."

Elliot's only response was to grunt and lean back in his chair.

"Wait…so how was Hardison able to find the warehouse address?" Sophie asked, lifting her head from her hands. "And how in the world did you pull off the camera footage at the house if you never actually went?"

"Oh that was simple. I just followed the limo on the traffic camera footage. The explosion footage was a bit more complicated. I took a clip from our little _surveillance excursion _to O'Deal's residence yesterday and incorporated it into the 'live' camera footage O'Deal thought he was watching. Since the cameras don't actually show the front door, I just returned the footage to normal for the explosion. I'm tellin' ya, it's the Age of the Gee…"

Elliot jumped to his feet and raised the ice pack threateningly at Hardison,

"Say it one more time Hardison, one more time!"

"But what about the virus? Did you really wipe that from the network?" Parker asked curiously.

"Haha, yea sure I did. Until I put a bigger one in its place." Hardison grinned, ignoring Elliot.

"Listen guys, you all did your jobs well. Thank you for coming through. O'Deal will have all of those cases brought up against him now that he has no leverage. That plus the overwhelming amounts of evidence that can be used to testify against him. Henry O'Deal is going to be in prison for a very long time." Nate said.

"So Nate…are we getting a pay cut?" Parker asked curiously as she bumped into him with her shoulder.

"Oh, you mean besides the money you stole from his safe?" Nate asked with a smirk.

Parker looked offended and stood up,

"I don't know what you're talking about…"

She walked pass them as she pulled out a wad of bills from her jacket and held them to her nose to smell. Smiling, she walked up to Sophie and surprised her by giving her a quick hug.

"I'm so glad you're alright Sophie. Things would have been boring without you."

"Well…thanks Parker." Sophie answered not sure whether to take it as a compliment or not.

Sophie exchanged a stunned look with Nate, surprised at the thief's display of emotion.

"Well, see you guys later! I think I'm going to go work on these night vision goggles..."

Looking up to the left as if thinking, she nodded scrunching her nose,

"Yea…they need some work. Night!"

Giving Hardison a high five, she skipped to the door and left. Nate shook his head and smiled.

Elliot stood with a sigh and walked over to Sophie. Putting his hand on her shoulder he said,

"Glad your back Sophie."

Sophie smiled up at him and could not help but notice the seriousness in his eyes. She had a feeling that Elliot would not have forgiven himself had anything happened to her.

"Guess I'm calling it a night." Elliot said grabbing his stuff.

Hardison, who had already begun to pack his stuff when Parker had left, threw his laptop bag over his shoulder and walked up to them.

"Yea I think I will too. Don't get into any more trouble Sophie, you already owe me a new ear bud." He joked.

"I'll try hard." Sophie laughed.

"Night Nate." Elliot said before heading toward the door with Hardison.

"Night guys, good job today."

"Oh yea, nice punch by the way." Elliot said stopping at the door and grinning back at him.

Nate shrugged and replied,

"I learn from the best."

Elliot shook his head and they left, closing the door behind them. Nate stretched his arm out on the back of the couch and glanced at Sophie. She was starting off into space with a troubled expression on her face. She was still in the same black dress she had started the con in, only this time her heels were kicked off, her legs were curled underneath her, and one of the straps was broken. Her lip was cut and there was dry blood there. Nasty bruises were beginning to show on her face from all of the abuse she had gone through.

Overwhelmed with emotions he could not quite explain, the most overwhelming being an odd sort of protection, he slid closer and asked quietly,

"Soph…I need to know. Are you ok? Did he…did he do anything to you?"

Sophie looked up and met his eyes, noticing his guarded anticipation. Of course he would be worried about O' Deal hurting her. The man was known for sexual harassment. Smiling tiredly, she reached out to cup his face in her hand,

"No. Your timing was once again perfect. I told you Nate, I know how to take care of myself."

She did not miss the relief written all over Nate's face. Reaching his hand up to hold hers, he looked down as if embarrassed before meeting her eyes again,

"I…well, the team was worried. I mean…that's why we work as a team…you don't have to do things on your own anymore. It's why you have us…" Nate tried to explain, cursing himself for not being better with his words.

She shushed him and smiled,

"I know…I know that now."

She unexpectedly pulled him closer to herself and leaned her head against his chest while closing her eyes. Looking down at her, Nate was momentarily surprised before he slowly put his arms around her and held her protectively. Feeling the warmth of her body and the beating of her heart against his own somehow reassured him. Cradling her now sleeping form into his chest, Nate barely heard her when she whispered,

"Home is here…"

Nate could not help but feel a smile begin to form on his face as he gazed down at her. It seemed the plan had worked after all. Sophie was safe.

**I hope you liked it! Again, if you have any comments, questions, complaints, just let me know! I would love to know your thoughts on the story! (Especially how I did on characterization!) Thanks again for reading :)**


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